Metropolis(1926)-Fritz Lang

Metropolis is a film from German in 1926.The starting is that a futurist city is ruled by the most powerful industrialist Joh.His son Fred meets a worker's daughter Maria at Eternal Garden. After that he goes to a factory to find her. At this monument, he witnesses an accident in the factory and has an illusion for those poor workers. This horrible situation scares him.Therefore,he decides to find his father to improve this dangerous working environment.

How does Flitz Lang use the devices of Mise En Scene to develop the characters , themes and narratives at the begging of Metropolis?

Location 1:Factory

Setting:

At the beginning scene, a lot of machine parts are running and releases steam. These mean that factories operate with high technology and very busy. A clock often keeps on tick-tock. It represents a modern century. Airplanes are flying around the sky, roads are full of  vehicles and subways can be across the buildings. Skyscrapers are surrounding everywhere. All of the signs signify it is a metropolis.

Characters:

• Fred:
  His facial expression includes happiness,sadness,shock......We can see and feel his emotion.
  His hair style and stylish business suit tell us that he get a high social states. He must be a main character because several frames are his close up scene.E.g:He is clapping in the stadium.
• Workers: A crowd of workers always show on the frames.However,the frames do not close up their face. We only can see them  group by group. They have the same uniforms, disappointed facial expression and movement. It seems that they just like a robot. Working a dull job is their destiny.

Narratives:

• Face and movement: Characters facial expression reflect their feeling and the situation. E.g.: The machine is going to out of control. A old worker looks very nervous and act with confusion.
• Props: A thermograph's quicksilver reaches a point quickly. It means that something is going  explosion.
• Lighting:  -Red tone: When Fred has an illusion. Factory change to be a temple and a huge amount of native are forced as slaves. Even they struggle but no one can escape.
  Color of the lighting create a bloody as atmosphere.
                  -Blue tone: Fred was watching that death bodies were moved away one by one. He cannot do anything. A cold color lighting is good to create a hopeless atmosphere.

Theme:

Location one is a cold-blooded factory. Many scenes for workers show i.e.:-Workers wait at an underground tunnel. Their acting are similar with a robot or like a brainwashing army.

However Fred is a contrast with workers' life. A frame is that workers are moving the death bodies away. Fred stands at the background with white lighting. Audiences see his outlook clearly. On the other hand, workers are walking in the foreground. All of them are black in color like a shadow.

This message is that Fred is a upper class person. His life is valuable. But the workers belong to lower class. Their life is cheap and no one would care about it.

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Location 2: Eternal Garden

Setting:

Here looks like a forest. Animals are walking around, besides trees and flowers are planted in the garden. Decorations are also include.E.g:fountain 

Characters: 

• Fred with a gorgeous girl: They are playing near by the fountain. From their face and reaction, we know that they enjoy it.
  The girl wear a extraordinary dress and hair which symbolic that she is a upper class.
• Maria: A close up scene for her, after she comes out from a door. So. she can be a main character.
  Her dressing and hair is nothing special but it is a big different with that gorgeous girl. Therefore it reflect Maria social state is not the same with them.

Narratives:

• Positioning: Fred and the gorgeous girl are freely to play at that garden. However, when Maria and a group of children enter it. Some servers ask them to go away. This mean that there is a private place do not allow lower class citizens to entry.
• Lighting: -Yellow:The lighting is different with location one.Yellow is a warm color.It is very suitable for a garden.Also it also means that here is harmony.

Theme:

Fred is attracted by Maria.When Maria comes out from a door,Fred and the gorgeous girl were shocked.Fred keeps on gaze her and ignores the others.From his eye contact and his reaction,we know that he is attracted by her.